Xavier "Professor X" Foupa-Pokam has been tapped as the replacement for James Irvin in a middleweight bout versus Drew McFedries at UFC 98 on May 23.
Irvin was forced to pull out due to a knee injury.
Foupa-Pokam (20-10) fell short in his debut for the UFC on April 18 at UFC 97, losing a unanimous decision to Denis Kang. The loss ended a seven-fight win streak.
While Foupa-Pokam will carry the weight of needing a win to guarantee a stay in the UFC, even more pressure is on McFedries, who is coming off two straight losses.
UFC 98 "Evans vs. Machida" will air on pay-per-view from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
FIGHT CARD:
- Rashad Evans vs. Lyoto Machida
- Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra
- Dan Miller vs. TBA
- Sean Sherk vs. Frankie Edgar
- Brock Larson vs. Chris Wilson
- Pat Barry vs. Tim Hague
- Phillipe Nover vs. Kyle Bradley
- Houston Alexander vs. Andre Gusmao
- Yoshiyuki Yoshida vs. Brandon Wolff
- George Roop vs. Dave Kaplan
- Xavier Foupa-Pokam vs. Drew McFedries
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